Hey everybody, I'm new to the site and didn't know if this was posted already or not and a very long read so any feedback would be greatly appreciated thank you. I'm looking at buying a prodigy boat. Thing is I found two but don't know which to go with. keep in mind I'm fishing internal Iowa rivers and do a lot of bow fishing so I want stability. summer with family. girlfriend and her two siblings. hunting 4 guys and sometimes a dog. Also duck hunting these waters too. Not much mud but sandy bottoms and some timber. I mainly hunt marshes. 2014 Prodigy 1754 17' overall length. Comes with blind, 10 50w 12/24v see lites on removable light rail, minn Kota 55 lb troller. Boat has recessed floor, 8” cat walks with trays, transom lights, interior lights, bilge, shark eye navigation lights, gator glide, hydro turf, hunt deck, extended front deck, spud poles, removable winch, 12 gallon gas tank. Motor is an 08, heads decked by setx, setx cam, marshmallow performance exhaust, mikuni carb, fiberglass carb cover, reverse plate, tiller handle controls. Trailer is a 13 magic tilt plastic covered bunks, motor is a gtr 35 with heads, cam, exhaust and mikuni carb, low 30s unloaded upper 20s loaded ( 207 hours ) for $14k. Or I go with the 2017 Prodigy 1848 19' 6" overall length. 2017 GTR Delta Level 3 mods which were built 142 hours, 53.6hp is what he says. Comes with blind, valve job done this winter. Winch/ sand spade equipped, wet sounds, see lights, interior lights, nav lights for $17k. I'm leaning towards the 1754 for price and stability but with 4 people fishing during the summer be alright? ( nobody is over 150 pounds to keep it short ). Care more about taking the family out during the summer and having a stable boat to bowfish / fish off than be unstable with them in the boat. should I go smaller and wider with better stability or longer and skinnier but less stability? Thank you for any feedback.

-Austin

My boat has a 44" bottom and has plenty of stability. I would go with the 18 footer for load carrying. Also check the bottoms to make sure neither one has any hooks my boat has some and it really affects performance.

With only 6" less width, the 19.5' boat will be more stable than the 17, but not much. It will, however, tote a load much better. The 17 will feel more crowded fishing with 4 people. That being said, I think based on your described needs that both will be fine.

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Longer hull offsets engine weight better also.

Like Russ said, both would fit your needs, but personally, I would go with the bigger boat. Will is correct as well. When everything is balanced, it helps stop the bouncing affect at wot too, which I hate

Get the 54 width. I run that to bowfish, bass fish, and hunt. The extra 6” of width doesn’t feel like much till two people are on the front deck.

Let me add though, that is because you said bowfishing. If you plan to have 2-3 ppl on the deck shooting fish, you will want 54” but you trade length.

If bowfishing is infrequent and less priority, likely the longer 1948 is better.

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